Pitbull aggresion

Introduction

Maybe one of the most controversial dog breeds, the American Pit Bull Terrier has a reputation for being an aggressive dog by nature. It is portrayed as a vicious creature that destroys anything in its path. “Along with the American Staffordshire Terrier, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, The English Bull Terrier and the American Bulldog, they are considered to be one breed, unrecognized by the United Kennel Club, known as the Pit Bull, and bully-type dogs”. They have been stigmatized by the media and sometimes characterized as a ‘menace to society’, due to the lack proper education about dog breeds and aggression and the misinformation of the populace.

Even though advocates of the breed and veterinarians claim that the Pit Bull breed is not represented by a small number of cases of aggression, many people tend to generalize and have a negative opinion and behaviour towards the breed. Sometimes this can lead to fear shown in an encounter with such a dog, and fear as is sensed and transmitted. An apprehensive behaviour towards a dog, no matter the breed, can lead to the same behaviour in turn. This is why it is important to educate people to know how to act around a dog, not to generalize and not treat the breed as a negative whole, but as individuals, each with their own characteristics and attitudes. Because of the fact that in the 21^st century, racism and racial bias still exist even in the most developed countries and people of darker skin, of Oriental, Asiatic and European heritage struggle to prove their worth in modern societies and to separate themselves from stigma around their behaviour or simply their appearance, we can consider breed bias to be of similar importance. No dog should be judged solely by its appearance and the entirety of the breeds that look similar should not suffer because of a small number of cases where dogs have shown aggressive behaviour due to improper training and malicious practices towards them.

History

By crossing Bulldogs and Terriers became a powerful mix that was “Trained to latch onto a bull’s nose and not let go until the animal was subdued”. This led to the bloody sport of bull-baiting, where “dogs were put in a pit with an intentionally riled-up bull and spectators placed bets on which dog would hold on the longest, or bring the bull down”, hence the name “Pit Bull”. “As bull-baiting came to be banned in the 19th century, dog fighting became popular as an underground and quasi-illegal activity in the UK and a very lucrative business. British immigrants to the U.S. at that time brought dog fighting, as well as their dogs, to the New World. However, as the breed spread to Americans and Americans spread across the continent, pit bulls began to be put to their original use, as general purpose herding and working dogs. Because of their fighting history, though, the American Kennel Club would not recognize the breed until 1936, although they defined it as a Staffordshire terrier, distinct from the American pit bull terrier.”

Because the breeds that fall in the category of Pit Bulls have a very loyal and caring personality, they are very eager to please the owner. In most cases, these dogs were forced to fight. Those that lost fights were killed in the most gruesome ways imaginable. The winner dogs were bred without any precautions to form champion lines, which inherited their predecessors’ past and fighting roots. But this does not mean they will begin to fight any dog they encounter or that they are inherently aggressive. They were used in dog-fighting because they were very proficient at what the sport required, but other examples of working breeds still struggle with specific traits that were bred into them such as “digging instinct of many Terriers, the herding behaviour in Shelties, the compulsion to run in a Greyhound, etc.” Any canine can fight when challenged or when it needs to, but Pit Bulls were bred specifically for it and will therefore do it with more drive and intensity than most other breeds. This is the reason why they are the most sought after breed for illegal dog fighting.

Representation

Quite often, the media associates the Pit Bull with biting, mauling and attacking people and other dogs. Most headlines contain the words “pit bull” and “attack” in the same sentences but very rarely there is a news headline about a Pit Bull that is praised for its efforts as a service dog or as a sniffer dog. “It is also the preferred guard dog for drug dealers and gangs, with a hugely publicized attack in 1987 in which a pit bull guarding a marijuana crop in California mauls and kills a two-and-a-half year-old boy.” They were associated with crime and viewed as money making-opportunities rather than sentient beings. The media exploited this side of their story and the All American Dog, beloved by all was turned into a vicious creature. The infamous Sports Illustrated Issue, “Beware this Dog” from July 26, 1987 confirmed the misconception that these dogs were inherently dangerous and began to fill shelters at an alarming rate.

"The media portrayal and demonization of the Pit Bull paved a perfect path for the onset of breed specific legislation (The first recorded city to pass BSL was Hollywood, FL in 1980). BSL began to crop up in select places as the dogs began to be used as a political platform by opportunistic politicians.” Thousands of Pit Bull Mixes and American and Staffordshire Pit Bull Terriers were taken from their homes and killed, more suffered in shelters and the number of dog bites did not change enough to make a difference.

Breed Specific Legislations do not have the desired effect and generalize one possible particular behavioural trait to an entire breed. “No evidence of a reduction in serious dog bites in municipalities with BSL compared to municipalities without BSL."

Attacks and encounters

Because the media relies on quick statements and not on factual verified information, a pit bull is not always the culprit for an attack. Ten years ago, the dog that was making the most headlines was the Rottweiler, twenty years ago, the German Shepherd. Whenever a dog breed comes into fashion, incidents and attacks happen because of irresponsible owners and the lack of socialization or training. Of course, some dogs may be more tenacious in their behaviour and could be triggered more quickly. The Houston Chronicle quotes unnamed officials as placing the blame for the problem squarely on humans. “(M)any of the pit bull attacks are due to a skyrocketing number of poorly bred and badly trained dogs raised by backyard breeders, who are trying to cash in on the pit bull’s growing reputation as a cheap, but deadly effective guard dog, particularly in urban areas.” The truth is, Pit Bulls are terrible guard dogs because they are too oriented towards people.

“As for the aggressive behaviour towards other people, the use of positive punishment or negative reinforcement based training methods was associated with increased chance of aggression to family and unfamiliar people outside the house. For all types of aggression, the variables measured explained a relatively small amount of the variance (<10%) between aggressive and non-aggressive animals, suggesting a much greater importance of factors specific to the experience of individual dogs in the development of aggression. These data suggest that although general characteristics of dogs and owners may be a factor at population level, it would be inappropriate to make assumptions about an individual animal's risk of aggression to people based on characteristics such as breed.”

Sadly there were cases where children left unattended with a dog suffered extensive injuries or even got killed, but small in number. Even then, the Pit Bull was not the only breed that attacked children. “This was the case with a Siberian Husky in Alberta Canada who killed a days old baby by biting it on the head. It was a well-trained dog which likely meant to simply pick up the baby to carry it to their parents.” In those situations, the dog held responsible was euthanized. Because it is a difficult subject to approach, many dog owners fail to educate their companion but also children around them how to behave around a dog, no matter the breed. In the beginning of the 20^th century, Pit Bulls were also known as “Nanny Dogs” because they were very patient and good with children and that kind of behaviour was thought by responsible owners.

In a syndicated New York Times story from 1977 on dog bites, opening with the story of a seven year-old boy receiving a very minor injury from a Great Dane, author Jane E. Brody advises, “Simple precautions on the part of the dog owners and potential victims could prevent most of these attacks.” In short, that means to never leave a child and a dog together unattended. The reason why is because children do not yet possess the ability to pick up particular cues that their actions might produce anxiety towards a dog, due to their characteristic high-pitched voices, sudden movements and inappropriate interactions. In most cases, dog attacks or bites are produced by fear or anxiety. “Although it is natural to assume that hitting and other pain‐inducing interactions can elicit aggression, parents and dog owners may be less vigilant when a child simply approaches or pets a dog. Similarly, for unfamiliar children, walking or cycling near a dog's home may be provocative enough when dogs are tethered outdoors or are not securely fenced.”

“Familiar children were most commonly bitten in relation to food or resource guarding (n = 29; 26%) and “benign” interactions (n = 20; 18%) such as petting, hugging, bending over, or speaking to the dog. Presence in or entering the dog's territory was the most common situation in which unfamiliar children were bitten, regardless of whether the child was (n = 10; 9%) or was not (n = 21; 19%) actively interacting with the dog. Unfamiliar children were also bitten away from the dog's home or yard, regardless of interaction (Episodes of aggression were not limited to specific dog breeds, gender, neuter status, or history of training. n = 4; 4%) or lack of interaction (n = 5; 5%).”

  Statistics have been created that place American Pit Bull Terrier as the top culprit with the most attacks and bites registered. But such reports can be misleading for a number of reasons : “(a) most dog bites go unreported unless medical attention is sought (which may be more likely with larger breeds that have the ability to inflict more serious injury); (b) the total number of dogs of a given breed in the local community is seldom known, so the degree to which that breed is over-represented among reported dog bites is usually undetermined ;;; and (c) in many cases the breed of dog involved cannot be verified.”

“For instance, the relative average Canine Behavioural Assessment & Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) scores for stranger-directed aggression found among Pit Bull Terriers were inconsistent with their universal reputation as a ‘dangerous breed’ and their reported involvement in dog bite-related fatalities.” In an USA-based survey, some veterinarians and obedience trainers were asked to rank several popular breeds based on their behavioural traits. Two criteria were ‘watchdog barking’ and ‘territorial defence’, which are the most relevant in determining aggression towards other people, gave the following results: “nearly 7% of Pit Bull owners indicated that their dogs had bitten or attempted to bite an unfamiliar person in the recent past, somewhat higher than the overall average (4.7%), while 22% reported bites directed at other dogs. In contrast, although more than 20% of Dachshund owners in the study reported bites or attempts to bite against humans, the relatively small size of this and other highly aggressive breeds(e.g., Chihuahuas) substantially reduces the risks of serious injury.”

Because of its size, strength and tenacity, the Pit Bull bite does more damage than a smaller dog bite would do, and as such, the majority of reported cases that needed medical assistance were associated with a strong dog, thus blaming the American and the Staffordshire Pit Bull Terrier. “Reported levels of aggression in some cases are concerning, with rates of bites or bite attempts ‘in the recent past’ rising as high as 20% toward strangers and 30% toward unfamiliar dogs in some breeds.” “ Aggression in Akitas, Siberian Huskies, and Pit Bull Terriers, for instance, was primarily directed toward unfamiliar dogs. These findings suggest that aggression in dogs may be relatively target specific and that independent mechanisms may mediate the expression of different forms of aggression.”

Because the term Pit Bull does not necessarily comprise one particular dog breed, but gathers a multitude of breeds that look similarly, statistics of dog bites based on the breed cannot be taken as the ultimate point of reference. In most cases, the people who report these attacks, tend to state “a pit bull” bit them but without any proper evidence, thus “visual identification of pit bull-type dogs is unreliable (60% error rate between visual breed identification and actual DNA)”

The “Jaw Lock”

According to Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin, Ph.D., senior research scientist at the University of Georgia and an expert in training, handling, behaviour, and the anatomy of bull dog breeds, “The few studies which have been conducted of the structure of the skulls, mandibles, and teeth of American Pit Bull Terriers show that, in proportion to their size, their jaw structure and thus its inferred functional morphology is no different than that of any [other] breed of dog. There is absolutely no evidence for the existence of any kind of ‘locking mechanism’ unique to the structure of the jaw and/or teeth of the American Pit Bull Terrier.”

Conclusion

The belief that Pit Bull Mixes, American Pit Bull Terriers and Staffordshire Terriers are inherently aggressive is based on media bias and not on factual information. “The American Temperament Test Society provides testing around the country for dog breeds and provides a passing score for the entire breed, based on the percentage of passed over failed within total number of that particular breed tested. As of March 2001, the American Pit Bull Terrier has a current passing rate of 82.3% which makes him one of the top 5 most stable breed of dog in the country.” The breeds do have a history of dog fighting and sometimes violent behaviour towards other animals and people, but none reacted unprovoked. Same as any other breed of dogs, their training and handling is mirrored in their behaviour. If a Pit Bull is raised with love, to be obedient and to be a good pet, it will behave as such. If the same Pit Bull is raised with hate, violence and has traumatic experiences, those will show in its behaviour. Because of their build, their tenacity and their genetic material they emerge victorious in fighting scenarios but that does not mean they are inherently dangerous. They are outstanding working dogs, service dogs and therapy dogs and their previous reputation as America’s most beloved pet should be restored to its former glory, through education and patience.